Motogiro d'Italia 2009, Bologna to Trevisio

We come from all over the globe, Australia and Japan and America and all the corners of Europe every year, just to ride small cc vintage motorcycles on the roads they were designed for. The question is often asked, why? The answer is difficult, it lies in what doesn't show - how the bikes sound blasting down the road in a group, the sort of people the event attracts, the difficulty of all of it, from getting the bikes selected/prepared/transported/insured and home again. Even the way it smells, a unique combination of Italian countryside and gas and oil. The history is strong here in Bologna, as close as it gets to how and where this all began and so that is where this years story starts.......
Photos and story by Vicki Smith

This year the smallest bike was a 65cc Moto Guzzi, this 100cc Laverda was a close second. Every afternoon it would get hot and seize, then cool off and run like a top again. The demand put on the machines is ridiculous, from mountains to the sea